Player News

Mat Latos pitched well in his first start for the Dodgers on Sunday, holding the Angels to one run on four hits over six innings in a no-decision before his teammates came through for a 5-3 win in 10 innings.

Latos has to feel like he won the lottery, as he moved from one of the worst teams in the majors to one of the best. Against the Angels on Sunday, he struck out one and walked one. Albert Pujols drove in a run on a grounder in the sixth inning, but Latos otherwise kept the Angels off the scoreboard. After returning from a knee injury in mid-June, he's pitched very well across 51 2/3 innings, boasting a sub-3.00 ERA and a 44/10 K/BB ratio. A road showdown with the Pirates is up next on Latos' shiny, new schedule.

Cory Rasmus allowed two runs on three hits over three innings in earning a no-decision against the Dodgers on Sunday.

Rasmus was starting in place of the injured C.J. Wilson. Primarily a reliever, the Angels let him go three innings against the Dodgers on Sunday. He pitched adequately (if not spectacularly) in his time on the mound, striking out three and walking none. A two-run home run by Howie Kendrick in the third inning accounted for both runs against Rasmus. The Angels have yet to announce how they will be setting up their rotation moving forward, so another start is not a given for the 27-year-old.

Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports that the Rays are expected to call up 1B/3B Richie Shaffer on Monday.

He's expected to take the roster spot of Matt Moore who will be optioned to Triple-A Durham. The 24-year-old is hitting .261/.357/.538 with 23 homers and 59 RBI in 93 games between Double-A Montgomery and Triple-A Durham. He'll be counted on to add some much-needed punch to the Rays offense.

Josh Hamilton went 1-for-4 with a two-run home run in Sunday's win over the Giants.

Hamilton launched his two-run homer off of Giants starter Mike Leake in the sixth inning. These would be the only two runs to score in the game for the Rangers, but they would be enough for the win thanks to a strong pitching performance by Martin Perez. Hamilton's hitting .245/.297/.445 with five homers and 16 RBI. The power's still there--to some degree--but the numbers pale in comparison to those he was posting several years ago.

Angel Pagan went 1-for-4 with a double in Sunday's loss to the Rangers.

Pagan doubled off of locked-in Rangers starter Martin Perez with one out in the ninth inning. He would score on a Buster Posey RBI single, but the Giants were unable to complete a winning rally, as they fell by a score of 2-1. Pagan is hitting a light .264/.297/.317 with no home runs, 25 RBI, 37 runs scored and six steals this season.

For reference's sake, Perez allowed eight runs against the Yankees in his last start. Eight runs in just the second inning. This could have been enough to send most mortals into dark waters, but Perez showed mental fortitude in bouncing back against the Giants on Sunday. He allowed just two hits and struck out six without walking a batter over his 8 1/3 innings of work. On the whole, he holds a 6.64 ERA and 1.48 WHIP across four starts. A road start against the Mariners awaits as he tries to continue to work that ERA down.

The 27-year-old right-hander had been cut loose by the Phillies after registering a 6.00 ERA and 1.96 WHIP over 24 innings at Triple-A Lehigh Valley. He's nothing more than organizational depth for the Royals.